Marika Cassidy
Background Marika was orphaned as an infant in the U.K., her parents choosing to remain anonymous aside necessary I.D., and thus she's never learned of them, or cared to. She was only an orphan for a couple months before she was eagerly adopted by an urban, Irish couple, who had both met and lived in Britain through their careers. Donald and Alannah Cassidy were both mechanical engineers, having met during their courses at Bristol University, and being unable to have their own children, they raised Marika with care. Perhaps too much care, as she grew to be a bit of a free spirit, and spent a year after graduation partying and working odd jobs, rather then going to college like they wanted. Of course, reality struck when her mother died from an unforeseen genetic condition, and she quickly straightened and sobered up, reluctantly going to the same university as her parents, taking a 4-year term to become a mechanical engineer with courses designed for weapons engineering. Of course, after graduating, she was still struck with the same boredom that urban life gave her, and rather than find a normal job among the civilian workforce, she enlisted in the Royal Air Force, fascinated by stories of airships and their conquests. She had heard tales of the both famous and infamous Miss Enterstone, and dreamed of one day serving on an airship. She was mostly a fresh recruit, and was working to develop weapons for airships during her stationing overseas, when she learned of the Airship Efflorescent's existance through another soldier, and how it was commanded by Lady Evahl herself, she deserted with almost no hesitation for a chance to serve aboard it, and that chance was fulfilled when she was signed on. The ship itself was piloted and controlled by Lady Evahl, so most of what she did involved using the weapons and making sure nothing disfunctioned. Through the next few years aboard the ship, she ended up the First Mate of the Airship Efflorescent, and she grew a fierce loyalty for Lady Valkyrie, willing to keep fighting for her and the ship until Hell called to take her away. Appearance Marika had long, dim white hair, an unusual but not unheard of hair color, usually tied up in a ponytail when working. Her face was thin and focused, and her eyes were light brown. She had a fairly toned body, from both years of working on the Airship and keeping herself fit, so her figure was fairly thin but strong. Her clothes would often vary, but she would almost always be wearing a tight brown jacket with several pockets on either side, aswell as a heavy belt with a variety of tools and weapons hanging from it. Abilities From standard military and R.A.F. training, Marika was a skilled rifleman, pilot, and gunner. She knew how to operate heavy, static weaponry, like the kinds you might find on an airship, excellently from her experience. She was most effective with her small arms weaponry, as all of her weapons are hand-crafted by her. With her knowledge of weapon and mechanical engineering, she has been able to create a variety of weapons that most would call unorthodox or dangerous, but she would call innovative and effective. Weapons CPG, or Crossbow-propelled grenade - A metal crossbow the length of a rifle, the Crossbow was heavily modified in that it's length was extended and the firing bridge was widened greatly. The crossbow would fire explosive discs that would detonate on impact. The upside to these were their safety. One could drop or juggle them without detonation, as a high velocity was necessary to give the high pressured impact that caused the explosion. The ammunition was also much smaller than the rockets commonly associated with propelled grenades. This crossbow was usually slung around her back or hanging from her belt. Hailstorm .44 Magnum - This .44 Magnum was a seriously tinkered weapon, it had the standard issue short barrel, but rather than the cylinder in which six shots would be loaded, a stick magazine with 16 rounds would be pushed all the way through from the right side, before hooking at the end of the left side of the magazine. Alongside a small red-dot scope for accuracy, the firing mechanism had to be changed to fit the magazine, giving it fully automatic fire. As the weapon was fired, the magazine would slide to the left before popping out of the weapon when the ammo was expended. This weapon rested inside a special holster made to accomodate the scope and magazine. She had other weapons and gadgets, but these were her two primary weapons.